The USD/JPY pair ended last week with gains for the first time in two weeks, where the dollar strength and the unclear outlook for the Japanese economy helped the pair to rise.
The greenback was the best performer last week, as the ongoing debt crisis and Fed’s discussions regarding more easing drove investors to focus on the dollar as a safe haven amid the uncertainty in financial markets.
The Japanese economy faced a significant drop in the exports due to the yen strength, along with a drop in the consumer price index which increased uncertainty regarding the Japanese outlook.
Bank of Japan did not offer anything new during its last meeting, while some of its members asked for more easing and to expand the central bank’s budget, the move which could indicate to us that another action will be taken from the BOJ.
Any further action from BOJ will be closely monitored during the upcoming period, where it seems that the BOJ’s intervention is the only effective measure to affect the yen’s movements.
Major highlights for this week that will affect the USD/JPY pair’s trading:
Monday November 28:
On Monday at 15:00 GMT, the U.S. economy will release the New Home Sales for October where it’s expected to drop by 1.0% to 310 thousand from 313 thousand.
Tuesday November 29:
On Tuesday at 23:30 GMT (Monday), Japan will release the annual Household Spending for October which had a prior reading of -1.9%. As for the Japanese Jobless Rate for October it had a previous reading of 4.1%.
At 23:30 GMT the Japanese economy will release the annual Retail Trade for October with a prior reading of -1.2%, while the seasonally adjusted Retail Trade for October had a prior reading of -1.5%.
The U.S. economy will release the Consumer Confidence of November at 15:00 GMT, with a prior reading of 39.8 and it’s expected to come at 43.5. While the House Price Index for September had a prior reading of -0.1%.
Wednesday November 30:
On Wednesday at 23:50 GMT (Tuesday) Japan will issue the Industrial Production for October which had a prior reading of -3.3%.
At 05:00 GMT, Japan will issue the annual Construction Orders for October with a previous reading of -9.3%.
The U.S. economy will release the ADP employment change for November at 13:15 GMT, where it’s expected to come at 128 thousands from the previous reading of 110 thousands.
The U.S. Non-Farm Productivity for the third quarter is to be released at 13:30 GMT and expected to come at 3.1% inline with the previous reading, and the Unit Labor Costs for the third quarter is also expected unchanged at -2.4%.
The Chicago Purchasing Manager for November will be released at 14:45 GMT and is expected to come at 58.5 from the previous 58.4. At 15:00 GMT the Pending Home Sales will be published and it’s expected to remain flat from the prior -4.6%.
Thursday December 01:
On Thursday at 13:30 GMT, U.S. economy will issue its weekly initial claims numbers, where the number of people filing for first-time claims for the state unemployment insurance increased 388 thousand last week.
The U.S. Construction Spending for October will be released at 15:00 GMT and it’s expected to come at 0.2% inline with the previous.
The ISM Manufacturing Survey for November will be published at 15:00 GMT, with a previous reading of 50.8 and it’s expected to improve to 51.5.
Friday December 02:
On Friday at 23:50 GMT (Thursday), Japan will issue the Capital Spending for the third quarter which had a previous reading of -7.8%.
The United States of America will release the infamous jobs report on Friday at 13:30 GMT which is expected to show that the U.S. economy added 116 thousand jobs during the month of November compared with the previous reading of 80 thousand jobs. Unemployment during the month of November is expected to remain steady at 9.0%.
Originally posted here
